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Cheerleading may be a women bastion but a new study shows male cheerleaders are more prone to injuries. The study also shows cheer leaders can suffer serious injuries, making a strong pitch for treating the activity as a sport to lower incidence of injuries.

UPI reports that study was based on data obtained from National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study. Researchers found that cheerleaders sustain far fewer injuries than athletes in other sports but seriousness could be higher. The data showed most of the injured were women but men had higher injury rates.

The study also showed that there was not much difference in injury rates during competition and practice but the rate of injury was lower during performance. Concussions was the most common injury in cheerleading at 31 percent but rate of concussion injuries were significantly lower in cheerleading than other sports.

"Although overall injury rates are relatively low, cheerleading injuries may be more severe when they do occur. A detailed knowledge of cheerleading injury patterns relative to other sports is needed to drive targeted, evidence-based prevention efforts," the study published in the journal Pediatrics, reads.

Stunts caused more injuries than other accidents like falling from pyramids and tumbling which besides concussion also lead to ligament sprains and muscle strains. In nearly a sixth of cases, cheerleaders were forced to take three or more weeks to recover.